Kelsey Loyd has twice cared for Lady at the shelter. He told KWCH-TV that the first family who adopted her returned her because she was rough with their puppy. Then she escaped from the backyard of the house of the Independence woman who had subsequently adopted her, trudging the 30 miles back to the family's home.

Neither the family nor the woman wanted her back, so she was returned to the shelter.

Unbelievable Animals: Four Baby Calves

Loyd described Lady as a "super dog, gentle, calm dog," and he struggled to understand why no one wanted the friendly lab.

"If I had to pick a dog, this would have been the dog I would take," he said.

Lady's life changed when her story was spotted on Facebook by Helen Rich, an heiress to the Wrigley gum company who lives in Florida and has an animal sanctuary there.

Rich sent her assistant, Chet Ragsdale, to southeast Kansas in a private jet to retrieve the retriever. He made the trip to Independence Municipal Airport on Thursday, arriving back in Tampa with Lady late that night.